Wrench or the like.



No. 761,798; PATENTED JUNE-7, 1904. *P. E. WALDBN'.

/ //7 miiiiii UNITED STATES rammed June 7,1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERIOK E. VVALDEN, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO BAY STATE TOOL COMPANY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPO- RATION OF MAINE.

WRENCH OR THE LIKE.

SPECIFICATION formiri g part f? Letters Pate N 761,798, dated June 7, 1904.

. Application filed September 4, 1903. Serial No. 171,876. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK E. W ALDEN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Worcester, in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts,have invented new and useful Improvements in Wrenches or the Like, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to hand-tools, particu larly to wrenches and like articles; and-the object of my invention is to provide asimple and easily-operated wrench whose two jaws may be adjusted and fixed in relative position with ease and rapidity.

In accordance with my invention the wrench or the like comprises a movable jaw, a fixed aw having a stem or the like on which the movable jaw is mounted, a toothed bar on one side of the jaws, and a toothed socket on. the

. from.

other jaw, said bar and socket being each made with a longitudinal passage-way for the tooth or teeth of the other and relatively rotatable to engage and disengage them to lock the movable aw to the fixed jaw or free it there- In the preferred form of my invention the socket is on the movable jaw and the bar is a rock-bar ournalednear one end on the stem scribed. Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the movable jaw of the wrench shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 5 is a section on line 5 5 of Figs. 1 and 2. I

Herein I have embodied my invention in a wrench, and in the accompanying drawings A represents one of the jaws of the wrench, which, for convenience, I have designated the fixed jaw, said jaw being provided with a stem at,

terminating in a handle a. On the stem at is mounted jaw B, made with a socket b parallel with the stem a and provided with two rows of diametrically-opposed segmental teeth I), separated by two longitudinal passageways 6. Intothe socket 6 extends a rockbar O, made with two diametrically-opposed rows of segmental teeth 0, separated by two longitudinal passage-ways 0". The width of each longitudinalpassage-way Z) and c. isslightly greater than the width of the teeth 0 j B is free to be moved on stem 0, and Fig. 1

shows the position of rock-bar O when jaw B is locked in position on stem (0.

' The outter end of the rock-bar is journaled' in a bracket (5, fixed to stem (0, and said rockbar extends through this-bracket into a pocket 0?, provided in handle (4'. Between bracket a and pocket a rock-bar O is provided with an arm-0n thumb-piece c, by means of which the user of the wrench can operate the rockbar O; Normally rook-bar O is held with its teeth 0 in engagement with the teeth Z) of socket b by a spring 0 arranged within the pocket a and fastened at one end to handle a and at its other end to the rock-bar O. W hen the user presses thumb-piece a down to free the movable jaw, spring 0 is put under tension, and when pressure is relieved from thumb-piece 0 spring returns the rock-bar to normal position. The engagement of thumb-piece c with the bottom of pocket (0 serves to limit the extent of movement of rock-bar O, when it is thus depressed by the user to free the movable jaw B.

It will now be observed that the movable jaw B isnormally locked in position on stem LII a, but that by a slight movement of the thumbpieee 0 the jaw is quickly freed, and may be adjusted longitudinally of the stem at to any desired position quickly and with ease.

The socket 7) in jaw B is preferably made by first tapping said socket and then cutting it out at two opposite points, so as to provide the passage-ways 6" between the two rows of teeth 5, while the rock-bar C is made by first threading that bar with threads of the same pitch as those in socket Z), and then cutting away those threads, so as to provide the passage-ways 0". The advantage derived from producing the teeth in this manner-that is, with a pitch is that when spring a" returns rock-bar C to normal position after jaw B has been adjusted on the stem (0 the thread-like teeth of the bar tend to press the movable jaw farther toward. the fixed jaw, and this effect may be enhanced by the user supplementing the pressure of spring 0 by tlmmb-pressure.

It will thus be seen that when the tool is used upon a nut, for example, and the jaws have been adjusted as close as possible while unlocked a final pinch, so to speak, will be given by the locking of the jaws.

As shown in the drawings, the teeth 0 on rock-bar C are made from aleft-hand thread, and those within socket Z) correspond. The reason for this is that it is more convenient to have the thumb-piece 0 throw down at the right-hand side of the handle (4 than at the left; but of course the direction of the thread can be suited to the direction in which rockbar C moves when the thumb-piece is depressed. It is undersood, however, that it is not essential to my invention that there be any pitch to the teeth 6 and c, and that the number of rows, form, and number of teeth can be widely varied.

hat I claim is 1. A wrench or thelike comprising a movable jaw; a fixed jaw having a stem or the like on which the movable jaw is mounted to slide to and from the fixed jaw; a toothed rock-bar journaled near one end on the stem of the fixed jaw; a thumb-piece on the rock-bar for turning the rock-bar in one direction; a spring for turning the rock-bar in the opposite direction; and a toothed socket on the movable jaw, said rock-bar and socket being each made with a longitudinal passage-av for the tooth or teeth of the other and relatively rotatable to engage or disengage them to lock the movable jaw to thefixed jaw or free it therefrom.

2. A wrench or the like comprising a movable jaw; a fixed jaw having astem or thelike on which the movablejaw is mounted to slide to and from the fixed jaw; a threaded rock-bar journaled near one end on the stem of the fixed jaw; a thumb-piece on the rock-bar for turning the rock-bar in one direction; aspriug for turning the rock-bar in the opposite direction; and athreaded socket on the movable jaw, said rock-bar and socket being each made with a longitudinal 'iassagc-way across its threads for the threads of the other relatively rotatable to engage or disengage them to lock the movable jaw to the fixed jaw or free it therefrom.

Signed by me at Boston, l\lassaehnsetts, this 29th day of August, 1903.

FREDERICK E. \VA LDICN. \Vitnesses:

ARTHUR F. RANDALL, JOSEPHINE H. RYAN. 

